Fiber cement siding gets colorful

A LREADY strong sales of fiber .Cl,cement sidins should be even brighter with the r-ecent push toward prefinished products.

Although prefinishers have been prestaining fiber cement for several years-and prepriming it even longer-manufacturers have never really marketed or inventoried precolored fiber cement siding until this year.

The latest, James Hardie Building Products' new ColorPlus Collection, offers mar-resistant color treatments for siding in soft pastels, warm earth tones, and rustic stains. Available in lap and shingle panel siding, its marresistant surface blocks efflorescence, resists fading and scratching during shipping and installation, and reportedly won't peel, chip, or crack.

CertainTeed started offering prefinished fiber cement siding at the beginning of the year, projecting that it would account for 5Vo of its WeatherBoard sales in 200 I "Already, it's 7 ,5Eo of our sales volume," says marketing manager Brooks Williams. He attributes the high acceptance rate to "several key builders who drive the volume."

paint-avoiding costly delays when weather prevents the completion of a project. And, homeowners benefit from two warranties: typically a 50year warranty on the board against rotting, warping, cracking and delaminating, and a l0- or lS-year warranty on the finish.

"The warranty program is a big issue for condominium associations," explains Skip Brown, California PreStain, Long Beach, Ca. "They have a lot of people to answer to."

In introducing the new product, says Williams, "the goal, first and foremost. was to add value. We learned from vinyl siding about the desirability of color. And prefinished siding is simple, it arrives at the job site ready for installation."

Prefinishing offers builders and remodelers the option of not having to

Fiber cement has grown to about 70Vo of Southern Coatings' prefinishing business. That delights the Jacksonville, Fl.-based company since, according to Melissa Preissler, fiber cement prefinishing is "much faster than lumber, since it's all oven dried. Some of the lumber finishing has to be air dried."

Prefinished siding is convenient for builders, as well as aesthetically appealing even before it's installed. "We can do basically any color," Preissler says. "All fiber cement paints are flat. There's no gloss or semi-gloss. And, we can color match."

As a result, one common use for prefinished fiber cement siding has been in the construction of hotels, notes Chuck Harris, such as "chains, like Marriott or whatever, that have specific company colors."

Both Harris and Preissler anticipate an increase in the use of prefinished fiber cement siding in manufactured housing. "With Masonite Colorlok siding discontinued, we're looking for a surge (in fiber cement)," says Harris, who also expects big increases in multi-family and tract home building. "We see it as the coming thing."